Obsession: Red River
by Bakura13
Summary: As Clow Reed once said, "There are no coincidences". That warning will have more meaning than ever. Especially for the brutal murders around Tomoeda and the bloody trail left behind. The target: Yue...
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

**Mwaha… I finally got an evil, evil idea for a Card Captor Sakura fan fiction… Disclaimer: I don't own Card Captor Sakura.**

* * *

A strange chilling wind blew through the streets of Tomoeda, rustling the summer leaves in the trees and sending a few flying through the night air. It was a time of when all the Clow Cards had been captured, transformed into Sakura Cards and their magic sealed away until their mistress needed their power. There seemed to be no threat in the cheerful city since the Void incident that only few actually knew about. Normal everyday life went on without a hitch.

Before, many students at the elementary school had talked about a ghost in a particular woods area, above a street. Since then, it had been quiet and seemingly undisturbed. Or so they thought. Straying away from the school and the pathway, hung an old rotting swing. Its decaying ropes looking old and worn held the wooden seat as the gust pushed it lightly. No one had ever noticed the old swing before but they would soon. A horrible scene would take place there, only fueling what was to come later on. Slowly, a translucent form started to appear on the swing, torn robes drifting lightly across the grass. The swing creaked as the being pushed its feet from the ground and slowly moved its visible pastel yellow eye to the pathway, seeing a walking couple.

"Did you hear something?" The woman asked, fearfully bringing her fist to her mouth.

"It's just the wind."

The soft musical sound of a bell was carried with the next gust of wind, making the pair more nervous.

"There it is again!" The woman insisted, latching on to the other's arm.

The shadowed being on the swing had a growing smile on its lips before it faded away, leaving the swing to stop on its own. Soon after, a heavy cloud gradually made its way across the face of the full moon and cast chilling shadows across the streets.

"Maybe it was just a cat." The man said, a little nervous himself. "There are a lot of runaways…"

They began to walk along the path again then heard soft crying to their left.

"It… sounds like a child!" The woman said, looking at her husband. "Maybe lost?"

"Why would a child be out at this time of night?" The man checked his watch, reading nine at night.

"Let's go then." The other grabbed the man's arm and started walking towards the soft sound of crying.

The couple carefully made their way past the trees, stepping through small bushes until they arrived at a clearing. The metal guardrails were broken, leaving a large gap at the edge of the block-covered cliff to the paved road and neighborhood below. Near the edge of cliff, a shadowed person was sitting there, torn robes covering almost all of its body and its sleeve-covered hands covering its face. The crying never ceased as the couple approached.

"Are you okay, dear…?" The woman asked, kneeling down to see the person.

With a few sniffles, a sleeve was removed from its face to point at the edge of the cliff, saying nothing as the sobs continued. The husband walked over to see what could have happened while the woman tried to comfort the crying person. As the other got nearer and nearer to the edge of the rock face, the robe-clad being slowly pulled its arm back to its body.

"I don't see anything… Did you lose something?"

Slowly, the grin returned as an arm was sharply brought across the other's body and a long curved blade protruded from inside the sleeves. The tip of the blade sliced through the clothing and skin, leading the curve of the weapon in a bloody path. Black flames lashed out from the weapon and wound, burning its victim as he lost his footing and fell down the Cliffside. The woman screamed and backed away, fearing for her own life as the flames lit up the edge of the grass. Stumbling up, she turned and ran as fast as she could through the woods, crashing through the bushes and pushing branches away from her face. She kept running but her foot got caught in a root and she fell onto the ground, landing in front of the old swing.

A rustle of leaves got her attention as she looked up fearfully in front of her, seeing what seemed to be the same person as before, hanging upside down from the tree branch. The sleeve-covered hands were holding the old ropes lightly while silence draped the area.

"H-How could you!" The woman stuttered, crawling away from the sick-minded attacker. "You murdered my husband!"

The other continued to watch her with both eyes; one a pale sickly yellow colour while the other seemed a deep blood red. Its raven hair was uneven, the woman could tell even though that person was upside down. The heavy cloud above finally drifted away, slowly revealing the scarred complexion of the other before a blood-curdling scream broke the silence, sending birds away in a panic.

Two bodies: one burnt and bloody on the street below and another, sliced in various ways and lying dead by the rope swing. Pleased with its work, the figure looked up through the clearing of tree branches to the full moon with the same twisted grin on its features.

"Soon… We shall have what we have been longing for centuries…" Words as dry as the wind, drifting off into nothing. "Your master shall not protect you this time… We shall get what we want…"

Bringing up the blood-covered blade, a rough tongue slowly dragged across the face of it until a clear line through the blood was made. Satisfied with the metallic taste of the victims' fluid of life, the person vanished during the next breeze. On the wooden plank of the swing, lay droplets of blood from each of the bodies, in the shape of oriental writings, which only few would understand if they knew the native tongue…

'Death' and 'Blood'. It would have much more meaning than the slaughter that took place… More than anyone would think…

* * *

**Indeed this is after the second movie "The Sealed Card" and if some remember the episode with the Illusion card, that is the very same cliff… Fitting, don't' you think?**


	2. I

**I**

**Oh wow, this thing was written in 2004… My, tis certainly been a while. See disclaimer on the prologue from now on.**

* * *

The breakfast dishes clinked softly in the sink full of lukewarm water as a young brunette girl washed them with distress etched upon her features. The dream—no… The _nightmare_ that plagued her mind the previous night still sent chills down her spine; awakening her fear of the unknown. It was vague; the nightmare. Somehow, despite the grey areas that could not be deciphered, the Sakura Card Mistress had an awful feeling that made her stomach twist in worry. For her, dreams were not to be taken as something as petty as an overactive imagination. Dreams for the young girl meant trouble was lurking just under the surface, waiting to climb out from the darkness and strike.

Biting her lower lip softly in concentration and worry, she recalled what she saw in the hazy darkness that threatened to overtake her in the dream world. There was a being—no, a few; she corrected herself as she searched the depths of her memory.

It seemed to be a dire situation with one being held hostage, others either wounded or helplessly standing by, and right in the centre of the group was Sakura herself. The staff to summon the cards was brandished, a few cards held in hand and she was yelling desperately for the adversary to stop; almost pleading with tears in her eyes. Her foe smirked cruelly, shadows playing over their scarred face that seemed more disfigured with the darkness playing tricks with the healed wounds, before raising up a bladed weapon and bringing it down onto the neck of the hostage—

A plate fell from shaking hands and plunged back into the kitchen sink, splashing soapy water and sinking to the bottom of the sink.

Peeking from the doorway leading in from the hallway, a small yellow plush bear looked around cautiously for any sign of the rest of the family then flew over to the Card Mistress, heaving a sigh. "The coast is clear! Finally! Why didn't you wake me up?"

Regardless of his presence being well-known in the house, Kero kept himself hidden, mostly in the mornings to let the family have their own time together before work or school… And to avoid Touya, Sakura's elder brother, due to their continuous spats and often got them a scolding from Sakura.

"Eh?" Sakura looked over at the guardian, still slightly distracted. "Oh, Kero-chan… I got up a bit early and I let you sleep a bit longer."

"Got up early?" Kero repeated, giving her a skeptical look with a blink of his beady black eyes. "For what? It's Sunday!"

"Shaoran and Tomoyo-chan are coming over for lunch and I have to get my chores done…" Sakura looked back at her work. "And…"

"And…?"

"I had another weird dream, Kero-chan…" She pulled the plug on the sink and started drying the dishes. "You said before that my dreams tell that something is going to happen… Like when Eriol-kun and the Sakura Cards…"

"Was it different?" The guardian grabbed a piece of food from his saved plate of breakfast. "Was it good or bad?"

Sakura fisted the tea towel nervously. "It was bad… It was a nightmare, Kero-chan! It was horrible! There was a bunch of people there… And it seemed really dangerous though I'm not sure what was really going on. Some people looked really hurt…"

"That is bad…" Kero rested a pawed fist on his chin in thought. "If that's the case then we'll have to be extremely careful from now on."

The card mistress nodded and finished up with the dishes and proceeded to get the rest of her chores done with her guardian's help. She was in the middle of vacuuming the floors when she heard the telephone ring from the living room. She looked up and switched the vacuum off before answering the phone.

"Moshi-Moshi, Kinomoto residence." Sakura said politely into the receiver.

"Sakura-chan?" A voice asked quietly.

Sakura blinked, recognizing the voice but wondered why it was so hushed. "Tomoyo-chan? Is something wrong?"

"Something horrible has happened…" The other girl said, not giving too many details.

The brunette inhaled a bit sharply, starting to get worried all over again about the dream she had. "What is it?"

"It's about Chiharu-chan and Yamazaki-kun… Something happened to them and they're in the hospital. It was on the television earlier along with something very disturbing…" Tomoyo paused for a moment, trying to think of the right words.

Upstairs, Kero struggled with a basket of clean laundry, that he was desperately trying to fly to his mistress' room, but stopped as soon as he entered, looking at the desk drawer where the card book was stored in. Still in his false form, he carefully dropped the laundry basket on the floor and flitted over to the drawer, watching it intently. He could sense extreme uneasiness among the Sakura Cards and while he was sleeping the previous night, he felt awful presences, enough to waken him. He folded his arms and waited patiently as the glowing book levitated out of the drawer and settled on the desk, a few cards floating out.

"Dark… Shadow…" He looked at the cards lined up on the desk, growing more suspicious. "Illusion?"

Kero looked over the names again, knowing an ominous prediction was trying to be told by the cards. The sun guardian hovered in silence; wracking his mind for answers from the small clues he was given. Something didn't add up and he hadn't sensed any threats within the last while with exception of the previous night…

Kero made his way to the window in Sakura's room and looked out. "I have to talk to Yue about this… and soon."

Still occupying the phone line, Sakura was looking at the dark screen of the television, the portable phone at her ear as she stood silently. She was questioning whether she wanted to know what the news said about the horrifying events and she almost forgot that Tomoyo was on the line.

"Sakura-chan?" Tomoyo asked. "Li-kun is here if you want to speak with him."

"No, it's okay, Tomoyo-chan." Sakura answered. "Do you two want to come here first then we'll see if Chiharu-chan and Yamazaki-kun are all right?"

"Mm. We'll be over soon. I really hope they are okay… When I saw what was on the news, I couldn't believe it…" Tomoyo spoke softly, sadness evident in her voice. "We'll see you soon, Sakura-chan."

The two exchanged last words on the phone then Tomoyo softly put the phone back on the receiver, sighing slightly. She looked back at Shaoran seated in one of the living room chairs and saw him looking at the television screen in deep contemplation.

One arm was propped on the arm of the chair and his hand cradled his chin and his cheek, chocolate eyes narrowing slightly in distracted thought. There was a reason for his mother to send him back to Tomoeda. She had sensed something; something vile, malicious. He knew that there were evils lurking about in the past: the Clow Cards, not necessarily evil but they were liberated from their prison, the sorceress in Hong Kong in the midst of the capturing of the cards, and Hiiragizawa Eriol had his own mysterious tricks to force Sakura to use her own magic and transform the cards, even though his methods seemed harsh they were meant for the greater good of the cards and the guardians.

Finally his mind thought of the Void incident, the negative energy that was causing everything to disappear, forcing Sakura to her limits when she had to rely on herself. Though since all of those events, Shaoran could think of no other.

"Li-kun?" The said boy looked up from his thoughts. "We're going to go to the hospital to see if Chiharu-chan and Yamazaki-kun are all right…"

"Mm." Shaoran nodded and got up from his chair, his thoughts still preoccupied by the ominous feeling.

Within the Kinomoto residence, Kero was still at the window in thought when he heard Sakura reenter her room.

"Kero-chan" Sakura said quietly as she opened her closet door to put her slippers away. "Tomoyo-chan said something bad happened to Chiharu-chan and Yamazaki-kun… You don't think my dream is coming true, do you?"

Slightly scared emerald eyes watched the small sun guardian as a sigh passed through the small false form. "I wouldn't doubt it…"

"Oh…" With her slippers neatly put in the closet, Sakura had yet to get up from her crouched position, her hand resting softly on the sliding door.

An uncomfortable silence passed between them as the house was absolutely hushed. Sakura thought back to the details of the dream that still gave her chills just thinking about it. It seemed much more violent and horrifying. The dreams she had when she was becoming the mistress of the cards weren't even close to what was shown to her in her sleep. Her fingernails dug into the painted wood slightly, as if to steady the fingers that threatened to tremor.

"Sakura…" The brunette looked up for a moment, broken from her thoughts before she turned slightly to see the guardian of the sun. "I don't know exactly what you saw but I'm getting worried."

There was a pause and the small guardian kept his gaze out the window, not seeing the fear that flashed in the green eyes of his mistress. He didn't want to scare the poor girl nor did he want her to just brush off the dream as if it were nothing… Nothing but a nightmare from an overactive imagination.

"I'm going to talk to Yue. Maybe he sensed something I missed… But be careful, Sakura." Kero looked back at the card mistress and saw the fear of the unknown possibilities. "And tell the kid to keep his eyes peeled for anything."

"Mm…" The brunette nodded with some uncertainty as she got up from her crouched position on the floor when the doorbell sounded. "I'll be back sometime soon, Kero-chan."

Once again, Kero was alone in the bedroom and he stole a glance at the face-down cards that still remained out in the open. He didn't want to tell Sakura that the cards had felt something afoot; it seemed that the poor mistress of the cards had too much on her mind.

"What aren't you telling me?" He asked with a sigh as he continued to look at the cards. "What didn't he tell us…"

For a few moments, the small guardian continued to look for the cards for any sort of answer but they remained still. Perhaps wanting to keep a secret they themselves were afraid to reveal in fear of the evil that was lurking about. Kero then frowned. He had to do something, he was one of the guardians of the card mistress and his duty was to protect her from harm. After arguing with his own thoughts and watching Sakura leave with Tomoyo and Shaoran, the tiny guardian glided to the hallway and down the stairs to the first floor.

'I have to contact Yue… but I can't go to him in broad daylight with the Sakura cards…' His flight brought him to the address book in the kitchen and he sat down on the counter.

With his limited body, the sun guardian pulled open the cover of the address book and started turning the pages one at a time to find what he was looking for. It was no laughing matter that it took him some effort to turn the pages and to press the buttons on the phone with more effort than he would have liked but he kept his mind focused on what he was going to say.

* * *

"_You cannot be serious! Clow!" Yue's pale face was trapped in between a look of torn up anger and near sadness. "I refuse to believe that! I will not serve under another master!"_

_The creator of the cards had a passive smile on his face and didn't even flinch. That damned grin that only caused more turmoil for Yue._

"_No!" The Moon guardian swiped an arm to the side. "Tell us why, Clow! Why would you abandon us for a master who knows absolutely nothing about us!"_

_No reply. Perhaps Clow was thinking carefully of the words he was going to say to his precious guardians but Yue didn't know. He wanted to answer. He wanted to know why._

"_Clow!"_

* * *

Kero paused, his little paws resting on the final number for Yuikito's home. For one thing, he knew Yukito would answer the phone but Yue would not talk on such a thing. And the other thing that was troubling the guardian was that if he did got to talk to Yue about the cards acting strangely, the subject of Clow would definitely be brought up. It was unavoidable but no matter how emotionless Yue portrayed himself to be, Kero knew that the moon guardian was missing his former master just as much when they first heard the dreadful words.

* * *

"_I am dying."_

* * *

Slowly, the small paws were lifted from the neatly painted button on the phone. He couldn't do that to Yue. Not yet. He would at least wait until nightfall to talk to the other guardian where he seemed most comfortable. The night that bought him into the living world… but the night also brought on the death of their creator. It was almost ironic.

The phone was lifted up by tiny arms and dropped back onto the receiver before the little guardian resumed his flight around the house to the living room. There, he landed on the table and pressed the on button on the television remote; bringing the television set softly buzzing to life. Kero sat down on the table, looking at the moving pictures on the television screen as he barely paid attention to what the news reporter said to many viewers.

'_There have been reports of an attack sometime in the late hours of the night and two victims have been taken to hospital for treatment while two more were pronounced dead at the scene. Tomoeda's police forces have been trying to find any lead that had caused this vicious crime and so far, there are no known suspects. Authorities are asking if anyone has been in the immediate area and has seen anyone suspicious to please call the station…_'

"Just what's going on here…" Kero thought out loud. "It can't be Clow… If it was again then Yue or I would have sensed it… But if a human did that, why would they do it… And why would I have sensed something…"

"_Where is he..._" A voice rasped sharply from the heavens as the television buzzed into static.

Kero's head snapped up from his deep thought and his tiny muscles tensed. That strange feeling he had sensed the previous night was present yet he couldn't pinpoint where.

"_We want him… Where is the Moon Child…"_

"Moon child?" Kero echoed back in thought.

"_Where…Show us!"_

The ceiling of the first floor creaked horribly as if trying to support an enormous weight, the floor boards on the second story groaning with each invisible step. The air felt as if an icy chill had sliced through the room though Kero was doubtful that his mind was playing tricks on him.

The voice hissed as if right beside the guardian's ear. "_Will you be… sufficient… sacrifice…bloody… sacrifice…"_

Dark hair slid forward slightly to curtain around Kero as the being tilted its head forward in question, pale scarred hands slammed down on either side of the guardian, causing the small one to turn around to face it.

"_You are not who we seek… But will you suffice… for the sacrifice to end this existence of this world.._" It continued to ask questions in a hiss. "_Where is the entity we seek… Where is Yue…_"

Kero shot backwards across the room with the aid of his wings, the feathered set growing until it enveloped the plush-like form and glowed with a golden hue. When the grand set of wings withdrew, Keroberos landed on the floor with a muffled thump of his mighty paws.

"Who are you?" He demanded in a fierce growl.

"_Where is he…"_ A hand stretched out as far as it could reach across the coffee table towards the guardian then lowered onto the polished surface.

The sharp nails dug into the wood and were slowly dragged back, leaving scratches on the tabletop and the being seemed to almost smile before the gentle gesture slid into a cruel smirk. The smirk grew as the nails dug further into the table, being dragged across as the pale hand slowly started to fade, the rest of the body following in suit as the creature breathed:

"_We have been searching… His master shall not protect him nor will he protect himself from us…_"

"_Sacrifice…_"

All noise within the household was swept away by deadly silence. Even Keroberos held his breath as he continued to tensely watch where he was previously sitting. Nothing was there. Everything seemed normal and with soft pads of his feet, he slowly walked forward, ears perked up and ready for any noise whatsoever. Nothing. His golden eyes swept across the room and his thoughts raced to track the presence that was there a moment ago. That too, had disappeared in a wisp.

Letting out a sigh, he sat on the floor and let his shoulders sink slightly. He now knew that he had to warn Sakura and Yue of what occurred just moments ago. What he didn't know was why the being, or creature, kept asking for Yue. Glancing a final time at the table he was standing on in his previous form, golden eyes gazed across the deep scratch that was left in the polished wood. He'd have to explain that to Touya too…

* * *

**Well, due to my lack of writing months upon months, and being a perfectionist and picky, I've finally decided to say screw it and glance back at a few CardCaptor Sakura episodes to get the hang of the series again and let my imagination roam where it may. This is going to be fun to write…**


	3. II

**II**

"I dare you to tell me that excuse one more time, you stuffed animal." Touya looked at the sun guardian in annoyance, his pointer finger mere centimeters from the plush's face. "How do I know that you weren't fighting Sakura about chores and parading around the living room in your other form?"

Growling, a small set of teeth snapped forward and bit the elder Kinomoto sibling's fingertip. "I'm telling the truth, kid! Something came in the house and did that—forget it, I have to talk to Yue! Where's that Yukito kid?"

Hissing in pain, Touya yanked his hand back as soon as the teeth sunk in and he glared more at the accused. "His shift will be over in about an hour, I came home early to start dinner because dad isn't going to be home for a few more days. And I know you scratched up the table and you're going to fix it!"

"I'm telling you, I didn't do it!" Kero roared, holding up a pawed fist at the human. "How can you blame me?!"

"You are nothing but trouble! I figured out it was you that was sleeping on my bed when I was at school and work! The cat hair proves it, stuffed toy!" The elder brother narrowed his eyes at the other's nervous expression. "I've told you more than enough times to keep out of my room!"

"Well Sakura's bed is too small—"

"You know you're not allowed to be in your bigger form in the house—"

"It was an emergency—"

"Breaking and entering into my room is not an emergency—"

"Your bed was more comfortable but that's not the point! I didn't mark up the table—"

"You're going to fix it!"

With frustrated growls, the two glared and were nearly at each other's throats before the front door clicked open, grabbing both their attention. Nothing happened for a few moments and Kero tensed, sensing magic within the immediate vicinity once again.

"Sakura?" Touya called out, not being able to pick up the magical signature due to the loss of his powers.

There was a scuffle of shoes entering the household before thumping footfalls, slightly muffled from socks, raced across the wooden floor and a high squeal broke out that could have shattered glass.

"Touya-kuuuuun!" A blur of long brown hair and the folds of dresses trailed after the assailant when she vaulted over the table and attached herself to Sakura's older brother. "I've missed you so much!"

"Get off of me." Touya warned, attempting to shove the clingy guardian off of him.

"Ah! It's you!" Kero pointed at the evil that just barged into the house. "What the hell are you doing here?!"

Sticking out her tongue at the plush guardian, Nakuru resumed clinging and nuzzling Touya. "I thought I was never going to see you again! I know you've just missed me so much but why haven't you written to me?"

"Let—"

"Or gave me a call?"

"Go—"

"Oh wait, it's long distance, silly me…" The guardian put a finger to her lip in thought as she momentarily went quiet.

"Akizuki!"

With another unexpected squeal, Nakuru hopped back on the ground, still hugging the other around the neck and spun him around.

"I'm sure that Touya-kun would appreciate it if you would not hang off of him, Nakuru." Eriol said passively as the sunlight reflected off of his glasses.

"Oh come on, Eriol-sama, Touya-kun has missed me, can't you tell?" Nakuru pouted as she hugged Touya closer, completely ignoring the glares that could have pierced a wall.

"Get the _hell_ off of me and stop hugging me!" Touya managed to untangle himself from the vice-like grip the guardian had on his neck. "And don't you know that entering someone's house without permission is rude?"

"Oh, oops!" With a slightly guilty grin on her face, Nakuru rubbed the back of her head in slight embarrassment. "Well, Eriol-sama opened the door so he must have known that someone was home… And I know you would have shut the door as soon as you saw him!"

Biting back the remark that he would have shut the door as soon as he noticed the airborne cling, Touya looked annoyed as his eyes skimmed over the recent party that entered his house. "Why are you here? Sakura didn't mention anything about anyone else visiting today."

Nakuru spun once before falling back into the couch, spreading out as she stretched. "Ah, Eriol-sama wanted to call and be all formal but if you knew I was coming then I wouldn't have been able to surprise you!"

"Yes, lucky me…" Touya muttered under his breath. "That doesn't answer my question."

"Please be patient, Touya-kun. I apologize for not calling ahead of time and for Nakuru's unruly behavior but I must speak with Sakura about a recent matter that has been brought to my attention." Eriol's mysterious look was in place with his unreadable grin.

"Oi, Suppi-chan!" Nakuru waved a hand at the small guardian that insisted at staying at the entrance way to the hall.

Looking fairly annoyed at the nickname, turquoise eyes narrowed slightly before looking away as he spoke softly. "You know very well that I will not answer to that absolutely ridiculous nickname…"

"Oh quit being a wet blanket!" Blowing a raspberry at the other, Nakuru focused her attention on Touya.

"Ah! Suppi, it is you!" The black fur nearly stood up on end when he heard the horrible screech of his despised nickname and the sight of the sugar-hording sun guardian that rushed over to him. "Do you want some sweets?"

"No… thank you." Spinel declined politely, obviously restraining the irritated feelings that threatened to bleed through his even tone and ruin his character. "Eriol-sama, was it really necessary to come here when the card mistress is obviously not here?"

"I'll admit the timing is not perfect." Eriol began before sitting on one of the chairs with his elbows resting on the arms. "Though she should be arriving home shortly."

"Eh?" Nakuru drawled out the single syllable, leaning forward from her seat on the couch to look at the marred table. "Touya-kun, you really should fix those ugly gouges in your table."

"They wouldn't be there if that stupid stuffed toy stopped tearing up the household from top to bottom—"

"I'm telling you one last time, it wasn't my fault! While everyone else was out, something came in the house and attacked me!" Kero took off from the floor and made a beeline right towards Touya.

"Really now?" Eriol's interest was peaked in the slightest. "It just so happens that this visit may be related to this or any future incidents…"

Slowly tracing a finger down the length of each scratch in the table, Nakuru looked at them with distracted interest. "They're pretty deep. And Touya-kun…" She moved her gaze to the other, smiling mysteriously as she spoke in a low and hushed tone. "I'd keep an eye on anything that might happen to Yue…"

Blinking before watching Nakuru sternly, Touya didn't like the sound of those words.

The suddenly happy persona returned to the long-haired brunette before she leapt up and clung to Touya's arm. "Let's go make some tea and find some cookies to munch on while we wait!"

Being dragged against his will, Touya got pulled into the kitchen as Kero grumbled under his breath about being accused of something he was innocent of. Smiling gently, Eriol looked upon the angered sun guardian and raised a hand slightly from the arm of the chair.

"Tell me, Keroberos, am I not mistaken that you have sensed another presence as well?"

Flying over to one of the pillows on the couch, Kero plopped down and sighed. "Yeah; just last night, actually. I sensed something ominous but I couldn't figure out what it was… And Sakura had a foretelling dream too. She said it was very dark and it seemed like bad news from the sound of it."

"I see… And where, may I ask, are the Sakura Cards?" The navy haired boy's expression went from mysterious to unreadable as he regarded Kero with an air of importance.

"I moved the book from Sakura's hiding place. I figured if whatever broke into the house could have come back and found them. Don't worry; they're all safe and sound." Kero assured.

The doorbell sounded and the door went unanswered as Touya tried to make his way to the hallway, Nakuru still clinging to him.

"Stop hugging me!" He growled as he tried to shove her off.

"I'm going to hug you forever, Touya-kun, I haven't seen you for so long!"

"Nakuru." Eriol stated evenly, glancing over at her with his eyes. "If you please…"

"Oh fine…" Nakuru pouted and reluctantly let go. "I'll see you back in the kitchen!"

Turning back to the kitchen, Nakuru pointed accusingly at Kero, who snuck into the kitchen and got a wee bit close to the container of cookies. "Oi! Get away from that, you sneaky little pig!"

"It's not your house!" Kero pointed back, guarding the container with his life.

Touya could just feel a muscle by his eye twitch, annoyed that he had unexpected guests that made themselves at home and were hiding something from him. He walked over to the door, glaring over his shoulder at the kitchen doorway before opening it.

He blinked, shock clearly evident on his features as he saw the lighter brunette at the door. "… Kaho."

Kaho smiled gently with warm eyes at Touya and offered a small wave. "It's nice to see you again, Touya. I'm sorry I'm late, may I come in?"

At that same moment, sitting in Penguin Park were Shaoran, Tomoyo, and Sakura; all worried but relieved that their friends would recover from their attacker. Looking crushed, Sakura sat on the park bench with her hands folded in her lap as her eyes focused on the sand at her feet.

"Sakura-chan…" Tomoyo spoke up quietly, looking at her best friend. "It's not your fault… The doctors said that they will be just fine soon enough, there were no life-threatening injuries…"

"I… I know…" Sakura's eyes threatened to tear up. "It's just… my dream… It was horrible… This is horrible… Oh, I don't want it to come true!" She brought up her hands and covered her face.

"… We all know something will happen…" Shaoran said carefully as he picked at his words with caution. "But… Sakura… you managed to get through everything else that was prophesized in your dreams before. It shouldn't be any different now."

"S-Shaoran…" Sakura lowered her hands, biting her lip slightly as she threatened to cry. "… No… You're right…" She brought up a hand and brushed the tears from her eyes. "I have Yue-san, Kero-chan, you, and everyone else behind me and to help… We'll get through this."

Offering her friends a cheerful yet slightly teary eyed smile to assure them that she was okay, Sakura swung her legs slightly before standing up from the park bench. Straightening her outfit, she turned to look back at them.

"Let's go back to my house, I'm sure Onii-san is wondering where we all went." Clenching a fist with puffed up cheeks of anger, Sakura continued. "Kero-chan better not have touched the cookies that I made for our lunch."

Tittering softly, Tomoyo smiled back at Sakura. "I'm sure he's left them alone… Although he is quite known for being pig-headed…"

The three of them left the park, walking together down the street leading to the Kinomoto home. Shaoran thought back to their visit at the hospital, recalling that he had sensed something briefly before it disappeared. The odd presence couldn't have been there for more than a few minutes and he wondered if Sakura noticed it as well. He looked at her but averted his gaze just as quietly when the emerald-eyed girl gave him a confused look from the staring and flushed cheeks.

"By the way, Shaoran… It's good to see you again—"

"My mother sent me back here." Shaoran inwardly winced from the rushed response. "Sorry, it's nice to be back."

"Your mother?" Sakura blinked, recalling the woman that she met when she went on her trip to Hong Kong. "Does that mean she…"

Shaoran nodded. "Yeah. She could feel something evil lurking about and put me on the flight that left the same night. She told me to…" He hesitated, the rest of his reply coming out in a mumble. "To… watch over you…"

Once again, Tomoyo giggled from the blushing of both Shaoran and Sakura. "I wish I had my camera with me to record this…"

"T-Tomoyo-chan!" Sakura's face reddened even more.

Shaoran coughed and averted his gaze. "We'll…er…have to keep a lookout on anything suspicious…"

"Hai." Sakura nodded.

The trio continued walking down the road until they arrived at the front door to the Kinomoto residence and Sakura reached for the doorknob with it clicked and opened on its own.

"H-hoee?!" She drew her hand away and took half a step backwards into Shaoran and Tomoyo. "O-Onii-san?"

Kero looked up in the midst of threatening to shove the sugar cookie down Spinel's throat before taking off into flight through the living room and to the front door.

"Sakura, you're finally home! Are your friends okay?"

"H-hai." Sakura eyed the door and stepped into the house. "Kero-chan, what's going on?"

As soon as Sakura removed her shoes from her feet, she was swept into a near bone crushing hug by Nakuru, who had raced from the living room to meet her host.

"Sakura-chaaan! Oh, look at you! You're as cute as ever! I've missed you and Touya-kun so much, how have you been?" Nakuru finally let her go and clasped her hands with Sakura's.

Sakura regarded Nakuru, still a bit shocked but she nodded slightly. "F-fine… Are Eriol-kun and Spinel-san here too?"

"Of course! We would have called you before but… You know!" Turning, Nakuru pulled the younger girl and her friends by their wrists towards the living room. "Eriol-sama, they're finally here!"

Sakura's eyes widened as she saw the fourth guest in her household. "M-Mizuki-sensei! You're here too?"

"Took you long enough, Kaijuu." Touya said offhandedly before popping a cookie in his mouth.

"Onii-san!" Sakura glared at her older brother, fists clenched tightly at her side while she momentarily forgot about her guests. "Where did you find those! Kero-chan! You didn't!"

"You said I couldn't touch them until lunchtime! It's way after noon!"

With yet another interruption, the phone rang and Touya got up from the couch to answer it… Personally, he wanted to put as much distance he could between him and Nakuru and he hoped that she wouldn't suddenly leap onto him from around the corner.

"Moshi-Mosh-" He was quickly interrupted.

"To-ya?" Yukito's soft voice came through the receiver, sounding almost drowned by fear.

"Yuki? What's wrong?"

"Can you just… come over?" Yukito asked faintly.

"What happened-"

"To-ya, please."

Hesitating with prying further, Touya glanced back at the living room doorway. "Alright, I'll be there in a minute. Then will you tell me what's wrong?"

"Y-yes… Arigato, To-ya…" After saying goodbye, Yuki hung up the phone in his living room, resting his chin on his knees that were pulled up. "… Hurry up, To-ya…"

He kept his eyes on the rug in front of him, not daring to get up to glance back in hallway. On the walls, there were gouges from animal-like talons, covered in blood that slowly made its way down the surface to pool on the floor.

Yukito hugged his knees tighter and shut his eyes, unluckily seeing what was haphazardly scratched into the wall in his mind's eye:

_Want_

_Yue's_

_Blood_


	4. III

**III**

**You have no idea how wrong it is to listen to Slipknot, Pandemonium – The Castle Frozen In Time from FFIX, the Marilyn Manson cover of This Is Halloween and I've fallen in love with Nightfall by Blind Guardian whilst writing this. The songs have nothing to do with the story but that's what helped me write it. Whoo. Oh, and orange juice. Drink your orange juice, kids. See Disclaimer in first chapter, please**

* * *

Touya examined the wall before him, the wooden planks horribly marred with gouges and what seemed to be blood. He didn't care to touch the twisted masterpiece the intruder had sowed upon the wall, he didn't need convincing that it was real. Cursing inwardly, the elder Kinomoto sibling damned his lack of magical powers that he sacrificed for the greater good. He wished he still possessed them—even some fragment—so he could at least be more aware of what horrors were slowly clawing their way to the surface. Judging by the trail of blood that was slowly making its way to the floor, Touya surmised that it was done fairly recently, maybe when Yukio had left the house for grocery shopping.

Speaking of which, Yukito was still seated in the living room, glasses discarded on the couch cushion beside him, with his head in his hands. He had commented that he had a sharp headache shortly after Touya had arrived but dismissed it, saying the impossibly clean break-in was more important.

"Yuki." Touya called back into the living room, not seeing the said person raise his head. "Was anything else damaged or stolen?"

"No… Whoever did this didn't seem interested in anything here." Yukito replied quietly.

"… Did you sense anything strange?" Sometimes, Touya really hated to be left out in situations, especially ones concerning the safety of his friends and family.

Hesitating, Yukito thought carefully to the few moments before he entered the household. "No… Not until I stepped into the yard, I thought something was there for a split second and I got this strange unnerving feeling… But it seemed to disappear just as quickly…"

Brown eyes narrowed slightly in thought. So far, there were two incidents that had some faint magical trail linked to it but both came to dead ends. The strange boy Eriol insisted that he and his acquaintances examined the site of the murder and made it quite clear for Kero to stay close to Sakura in case any more unpleasant surprises sprung from the calm.

Sometimes he really hated that mysterious brat with that damned smile of his. He was hiding something and he hadn't seemed too eager to share with the rest of the group.

"Yuki, why don't you stay with us for a while until we get a hold of just what the hell is going on around here…? That Eriol kid showed up again and he knows something we don't. I don't like this at all…" Touya walked back into the living room.

Mulling over the decision quietly for a few moments, Yukito finally nodded and offered the other a weary smile. "I'll just get a few things."

Thanking Touya with an all but brief hug, Yukito left the living room to grab a few essentials and left Touya on his own.

'_This seems a lot worse than the other times… And that damned brat insists it isn't his doing..._' Touya mused to himself as he gave the living room another once over.

Nothing seemed out of place; Yukito was a fairly neat person, after all. There had to be some way that intruder got in. There had to be some clue but by the looks of things, the only evidence was the bloody wall.

His attention was caught quite suddenly when the light screeching of something being dragged across the blind-covered windows began. Narrowing his eyes once again, Touya silently watched the covered windows that had a view of the yard and he was absolutely sure something was there. For a moment, it seemed that the scratching had stopped before it resumed, going across the widths of the windows one by one painfully slowly.

"To-ya." Yukito had stopped in the doorway, eyes focused on the blinds that hid the source of the noise. "That same feeling is back…"

The blinds rustled slightly as a pale scarred hand slipped between the panels, separating them until a crimson eye could be seen peeking through.

A dry giggle escaped the one behind the blinds, waving slightly with its scar covered fingers. "_Hello… boy…" _Another disturbing giggle. "_We see you…"_

* * *

"Huh, what a mess." Ruby Moon kicked a stone across the scorched black grass, wrinkling her nose slightly. "I can still smell it… It smells like death and metal…"

"The grass was destroyed by no ordinary fire." Spinel observed in his true form as he gently pat at the torched ground with a paw. "Can you not sense it, Eriol-sama?"

"There seems to be something left after the terrible incident…" Using utmost care, Eriol gently plucked a few burnt blades of grass into his hand, only to have it crumble in his palm. "This was done by magic, no doubt about that. You can still feel some residue of the spell cast on this…The magic used was quite vile indeed."

"Whoever did this sure didn't cover their tracks well." The red butterfly guardian drawled as she walked along the path of destruction. "To think whoever did this, attacked humans and killed them… We never did that…intentionally."

"No, I was quite precise with my plans to ensure that the lives in danger would be left unscathed and the card transformations for Sakura to go more smoothly than they could have gone…" A mask of concerned calm remained on the sorcerer's face as he watched the ashes be swept out of his hand by the evening wind. "This is a very dangerous situation."

Turquoise eyes lifted from the charred ground. "How so, Eriol-sama?"

"I do not like how this is playing out, not at all. The lives of this city are in danger and judging from the description from Keroberos, I fear this is only the beginning." Eriol stood up from his crouching position, smoothing out the gentle folds in his robes. "This is going to be quite a task."

"Ooh, I hope it's fun." Ruby Moon clasped her hands together with a giggle. "I had so much fun fighting with Yue last time now I get to protect him and he'll be so displeased!"

"Our responsibility will not be only ensuring the safety of Yue but the unsuspecting lives of innocent people as well. Yue will understand the importance of the situation and our predicament. Ruby Moon, I ask of you not to tease Yue despite trying to make light of this darkening time." Eriol smiled gently but with an air of gravity. "This may prove more difficult than I previously hoped…"

Pouting slightly, Ruby lowered her hands. "Of course, Eriol-sama. I was only trying to make light of the situation so it doesn't seem so dooming."

"That's never stopped you before…" Spinel sniffed dismissively and blatantly ignored the glare that was directed towards him by his companion.

* * *

A troubling giggle echoed in the living room as the scarred individual cleared the barrier of the blinds, standing in front of its possible victims. "_Found you…Yue… Child of the Moon…_"

"Who are you?" Touya demanded as he kept a fair amount of distance away from the intruder, keeping Yukito close-by.

"_You… mortal boy, do not interfere… Unless… you…want… to be first._" Grinning maniacally, a scarred hand was lifted and pointed towards Touya. "_You have no power…_"

Growling slightly, Touya kept his tongue and temper in check at the observation. "Answer my question."

"_It will not matter to you much longer… For soon you will be dead… and your blood shall paint these walls._"

* * *

Leaving Tomoyo and Kaho at the Kinomoto residence, Sakura, Shaoran and Kero made haste to follow the magical presence that seemed all too close-by and all too familiar to the Sun Guardian.

"Hurry, Kero-chan!" Sakura called back as her winged boots, fashioned by Tomoyo, thumped across the pavement of the street. "Something's wrong!"

"I knew it! I knew it wasn't a one-time deal!" Keroberos growled he followed his Card Mistress. "It's the same feeling from before when the house was broken into by magic!"

"Do you think Yue knows?" Sakura hoped her brother was alright, despite being close by to the Moon Guardian.

"He better! I'd be damned worried if he didn't!" Keroberos bared his teeth slightly at the memory of the pale being asking for the whereabouts of Clow's Moon guardian.

Blocks away from their position, a pillar flames, black and outlined in red, burst from behind trees and into the night sky. A shot of white jerked away from the threat and landed on a nearby rooftop gracefully but its stance still tense.

"It's Yue!" Sakura drew out one of her cards. "Jump!"

A bright glow appeared on the sewn-on wings of her boots before they grew with magical power, allowing the brunette to propel herself closer to the battle ground. Landing on a street lamp, Sakura jumped again and covered the distance much more quickly just to see Yue avoid another fiery spell with Touya in his arms.

"Onii-san!" The girl called out. "Yue!"

"Sakura, be careful!" Shaoran's voice sounded from behind her when something struck her hard.

Crying out slightly in pain, Sakura was pushed off course by a heavy weight slamming into her side that soon left her struggling to not land headfirst onto the concrete that was rushing towards her at an alarming rate.

In a panic, she drew another card. "F-Fly!"

Clinging desperately to her winged staff, the card mistress was swept into the air with the aid of the card's magic and looked down upon the street below her where her attacker landed. A dry hiss escaped the nameless one as they dragged themselves to their feet, only to look up at Sakura with an odd calculating stare.

"_You… You are the Master of the one we seek…_" A wide smirk grew on the scarred face once again. "_You are nothing… nothing but a child! How delightful… Die._"

Sparks appeared around the enemy's hand before another darkened flare was launched at the airborne girl. Managing to swiftly avoid it, Sakura looked down upon the other with a determined gaze.

"What do you want?! Who are you?" She asked, the last word ending in a sharp cry when another spell was aimed at her.

Disturbing giggles were her answer as the spell-caster smirked up gleefully at the young girl. "_Die, die, die! Burn, child, burn!_"

Keroberos suddenly charged, head butting the being square in the back and knocking them off balance into the pavement a few feet away. Growling deep in his throat, the lion crouched down defensively when the other got onto their feet again, the grin unchanged.

"_Silly… Silly Sun Kitten… We do not like you… We do not like you at all._"

"Who's this 'we' you keep talking about?" The Sun Guardian roared as he charged the attacker again.

Using the guardian's head as a platform, the being jumped up into the air, giggling evilly at the failed attack before a brilliant sapphire arrow fired from a corner of the night sky and struck the invader in the shoulder. A look of blank shock crossed the scarred features as they fell to the ground, landing on the front yard of a house.

"You are becoming quite out of practice, Keroberos. Perhaps you should spend less time eating sweets and more time sharpening your abilities…" Yue momentarily shifted his icy gaze to his opposite, his hands still poised in an archer fashion.

Grinning a bit tightly, Keroberos regarded the other with a mischievous look. "Out of practice, eh? Is that a challenge I hear, Yue? I'd never thought I'd see the day…"

"I was not attempting to make light of this situation. I was being serious." The Moon Guardian readied another magical arrow into the glowing bow as Keroberos snarled his protest.

"Onii-san!" Sakura called out as she glided over to the roof where her brother stood. "Are you okay?!"

"I'm fine. Sakura, what is that thing?" Touya asked as he spared a glance to his younger sister.

"I don't know but Kero-chan said it had the same magical energy as whatever got into the house. Eriol-kun didn't seem too happy about it either…" Biting her lip slightly, the card mistress glanced to where the enemy had fallen.

All of them tensed when the tree in the front yard exploded into flames with a loud bang; the fire soon spreading across the grass and enveloping the front yard of a home. The blazing inferno had crimson and black flames licking at the sidewalk, at the edges of the house and towards the sky, angrily expelling heat as a hazy figure stood in the middle of it.

"_You make this difficult, girl… We have come to collect the Moon Child… and collect him we shall… In more than one piece if necessary…!"_

* * *

Overlooking the homes below, Eriol stood near the edge of the cliff where the murders had taken place, with a frown on his features. Very suddenly he felt the foreign presence return… not in one location but two.

"I do believe we have a guest," The sorcerer said slowly, shifting his gaze momentarily from the undisturbed homes below.

The ambiance around the murder site became heavy with a magical presence but no foe stepped out of their hiding place. The two guardians stood defensively, their stances tense as they studied their surroundings from the sudden feeling.

"Perhaps they are waiting for an invitation, Eriol-sama…" Spinel's ears flattened slightly from the silence.

It seemed as if the wind even held its breath, stilling the leaves on the trees. Everything living seemed to crawl into a grinding stop.

"_Hello…"_ Dry giggling seemed to sound from all directions. _"Reincarnation…of our enemy…"_

Eriol's expression didn't change as he calmly looked around the shadows of the trees.

"_You cannot protect… protect the Moon Child from us much longer… Neither you…nor his current master…"_

A pale and scar covered hand slowly pushed it way up from the ground, looking almost lucent among the blades of grass, leaving them undisturbed.

"_He cannot and will not be protected…We will take him…hurt him…break him…until he begs for mercy…"_

The hand soon gave way to an arm, crisscrossed with unhealed scars and torn blackened robes. The giggling became worse, more disturbing.

"_And you cannot stop us, reincarnation of our enemy… You feel like him but you are not…"_ The arm disappeared into wisps of black smoke.

A hiss of a whisper ghosted right behind Eriol's ear as nails slightly traced down the side of the young sorcerers' face, studying the unmarred features before digging in slightly. _"Clow Reed…"_


	5. IV

**IV**

A violent hiss accompanied the sound of burning property as the summoned Watery Card crashed into the inferno, shrouding the area in a dense warm fog that quickly spread. A dark shape soon made itself known as it ran almost blindly through the haze, escaping from the fog with wisps reaching in vain to follow.

Sakura, back safely on the ground, held her Staff in front of her, an unwavering look on her face as the water spirit doused the flames. "I don't know who you are but I'm going to stop you from hurting Yue or anyone else!"

Capable of seeing the other's face and form a bit more clearly as the haze started to disappear, the card mistress was able to identify the foe as a woman; a very deranged woman that didn't seem completely human. Something within Sakura's chest seemed to freeze as the wide grin returned.

A crazed cackle erupted from the scarred individual, who seemed to find the young girl's bravery entertaining. _"Stop us; with your parlor tricks that you inherited?"_

The laughing continued, not sounding quite complete as each snicker sounded broken and raspy. A hole was burnt through the already tattered black robes, revealing a section of skin, wounded and bloody. Two handheld weapons were withdrawn from the depths of the torn sleeves, the curved blades softly reflecting the light of the moon above.

"_Entertain us, girl, entertain us! We, Shikei and Kousei, shall grant the death you wish to embrace!"_

The cackling ensued as the attacker broke into a run, an insane look upon her features.

"_You wish to save your Moon Child! You prolong his fate and quicken your execution!"_

One of the bladed weapons was swung towards the young brunette's face, defended by the summoning Staff.

"_Execution! Death!"_

Struggling slightly from the strength behind the blow, Sakura held her ground as firmly as she could, not daring to weaken her hold on the staff to summon more of her cards.

"_Die brilliantly! Die silently! We do not care! We will smear your blood upon the Moon Child's face!"_

"Emperor of Thunder, answer my call!" A paper seal crackled with energy before white hot lightning lashed out towards the assailant.

Attention momentarily diverted, the scarred woman snapped her gaze towards the onslaught of electricity before throwing herself out of its path. The ground from where she stood was struck and burnt black from the energy, completely avoiding the card mistress.

"_What is this!?" _A scarred hand, burnt from the attack, was held up in front of the dual-coloured eyes, small shocks still crackling before finally dying out over the blistered flesh.

Slowly, as if in complete wonderment, she turned her hand to examine the extent of the damage, experimentally clenching a fist and flinching slightly from the intense pain that flared up from the nerves. A look of terror suddenly passed over the scarred features of the woman's face, eyes quickly looking over her hand.

Keeping her stance rigid, Sakura nervously exchanged glances with Shaoran, not quite sure what to make of the odd reaction.

"_Damn you, __**boy**__! You wish to wound us! Our inflamed skin hurts us!"_

The other bladed weapon, not lost from the fall, was raised just above the scorched flesh.

"_You wish for us to bleed!"_

With much swiftness, the blade was brought down upon the palm of her scarred and burnt hand, causing blood to slide down to her wrist and then across her pale arm.

"_And we bleed! We bleed!"_ She seemed to wail, grabbing her hand and dropping to her knees. _"How it burns! How it hurts! How it bleeds!"_

The mournful wailing persisted as the woman continued yelling nonsense, fingers threading through her uneven tresses.

"_What do you want from us! Leave us be! Vile child! Vile, vile child!"_

Silence settled in after the last outburst, the flames long extinguished, as all attention was focused on the now trembling woman in slight confusion.

"The question should be, what do you want from us?" Yue stated icily as regarded the other.

Something seemed gravely wrong.

"_Go away!"_ The woman shrieked loudly, shattering the brief silence before her image started fading. _ "Leave us! Be gone! Vanish!"_

"Hey! Where do you think you're going!?" Keroberos took a run at the vanishing being, intending on pouncing but his paws hit solid concrete as the last of the woman's image completely faded away. "Damn it!"

Sakura swallowed thickly, her eyes wide and fearful as she looked at the spot where the woman was kneeling. The horrible feeling from her dreams struck her full-force as soon as the attack had started and she realized how different this situation was becoming to her previous experiences as a card mistress.

People were getting hurt. Badly.

The enemy didn't seem to care if they put innocent lives in danger.

Two people had died because of them.

Something about what happened over the past few moments had her heart in an unrelenting grip. It was suffocating.

"O-oh god…" Sakura whispered as her knuckles turned white from her grasp; her mind, unable to fathom, but knowing that more atrocities could take place without her knowing. "This… This is horrible!"

Unexpectedly, two hands as cold as frost, one slick with blood, grabbed her face from behind and forced her head up to look at a grinning scarred visage.

"_Yes! Yes it is, little card mistress! And it will only get worse! Now we wish to play with you now and your blood!"_

The woman held Sakura's face tightly between her hands and looked upon the angered Moon Guardian with a sly smirk.

"_You will have to wait your turn, Moon Child… We wish to play with this one…"_

Looking back down upon the frightened girl, the grin widened to an insane degree.

"_We are Shikei and we will be your playmate this fine and bloody night!"_

* * *

Eriol stood his ground calmly as his eyes, betraying any hidden misgivings, focused on the scarred individual standing before himself and his guardians. Save for the icy grip upon his face from not too long ago, the other had done nothing threatening except stand there, grinning toothily like a cat that had just found its prey. Silence reigned as a gentle wind blew by, causing the leaves to tremble and reveal the sharp smell of burning smoke from somewhere upwind.

"_Reincarnation of the renowned Great Clow Reed_…" The being almost purred, its grin widening a fraction. "_Is nothing but a child_?"

"You seem to have not grasped the concept of not judging a book by its cover." Ruby Moon snorted. "Eriol-sama is very capable of defending himself."

"_Nothing… but a copy-no… a replica with a fraction of his power, accompanied with a butterfly and a feline!"_ Cackling in delight, a pale finger was pointed towards the group. "_We are amused by this! We are destroying children! Our grand master would be very pleased by what we face!"_

"Who is your master?" Eriol demanded in a cool tone, not amused.

"_Our master is of no concern, child. Your concern… is to try and stay alive in this condemned city. Stay alive and watch as helpless humans spill their blood upon the streets and die! Die all for the sake of the Moon Child living! And until the Moon Child dies, we will not rest! We will not rest until every living and miserable human is executed!_

"_But if you want them to live…_" Crimson and pale yellow eyes narrowed in amusement at the sorcerer. "_Bring us the one you call Yue alive so we may spill his blood and end his existence…"_

"I highly doubt that we will comply with your demands." Spinel growled; his stance tense and ready to attack. "It is a foolish wish."

"_So you risk the lives of hundreds to have their lives ripped away by Shikei and Kousei?"_

"We risk nothing."

Looking slightly annoyed, the grin slipped away into a displeased frown at the arrogance that was shown. Dual-coloured eyes watched the dark-haired sorcerer with scorn, confirming that resistance was going to be plenty in Tomoeda.

"_As you wish…Then watch as many of this city die slowly, painfully, screaming for mercy! Give us Yue! Give us the Moon Child and we will think of sparing the remaining lives!_"

With a violent crack, fire roared to life from the edges of the dark and torn robes, burning them as the black flames quickly spread all over the scarred body.

"_The choice is yours, Reincarnation of Clow Reed! Face life or death!"_

With a final roar, the flames grew towards the sky then were snuffed out by an invisible gust, leaving the ground charred black where the enemy once stood.

Ruby Moon and Spinel slightly relaxed from the magical pressure that disappeared with the flames and watched their master, awaiting orders.

"What do you want us to do, Eriol-sama?"

Staying quiet for a few agonizing moments, Eriol studied the charred earth with a slight frown. "We will confront Sakura about this situation and make sure she understands that stunning or capturing the enemy is out of the question."

"… Eriol-sama, if I may interject." Spinel spoke slowly and carefully. "The Card Mistress does have courage to defend herself but… not to kill another."

Eyes widening, Ruby Moon looked between her magical companion and her master. "Eriol-sama, it cannot possibly be that bad, can it? Sakura-chan is a nice girl but Suppi's right, actually killing an enemy will really scare her."

"As much as it will disturb her, it is the truth. The enemies that she has faced before have not taken lives but held them hostage until she had defeated them." Turning back to his guardians, the lenses of Eriol's glasses reflected the moon's light, causing them to glow eerily. "The reality is that this enemy is paying no heed to gentle warnings and Sakura will have to take a stand against them, even if it means spilling blood. She has to understand that the danger is real and that we can only do so much to protect the lives of innocent people but it is up to her to steel herself against this darkening time."

* * *

Yue and Keroberos stayed in front of their master, who was still slightly frightened, and glared equally as harshly to Shikei, who smirked back with malice. The attack had stopped and a stretch of a few dozen feet separated the group from the woman.

"_You defend your master… as fear starts to eat away at her soul and mind!_"

She started laughing madly at the sight, two fully capable guardians protecting their so-called all mighty master. To think that the young card mistress would frighten so easily by a few flames and words only prompted Shikei to laugh more.

"_Excellent! You fear, child? You fear the dark? Ghosts of the past that threaten to end your life due to sheer coincidence? You make this too easy for us!_"

"I-I won't let you—" Sakura stammered, trying to fight the waver in her voice.

"_Won't what? Let us end the lives of whoever we come across? Walk about this city, caring not what you think of us? Would you like to know something of us?"_

The laughing stopped as the woman looked at Sakura with a wide psychotic grin, eyes sparkling with evil intentions.

"_We kill for the amusement! We kill because it is easy!_"

"No! That's horrible!" Sakura yelled back.

"_Yes, it is! Wonderfully horrible! Your friends that we left alive screamed as beautifully as they bled!"_

Green eyes widened in fear as the faces of Yamazaki and Chiharu flashed in Sakura's mind. She thought of how they were covered in bandages and fearful of their unknown assailant; how she was unable to prevent the attack despite her wicked dreams that haunted her… warned her of the terrors to come.

"_They were so young and so fresh was the blood as they feared us! The ground was painted crimson, their escape attempts futile! We see your fear, Card Mistress! We see the fear we hunger for before we kill! We will kill you! Kill you and all you care about!"_

"No! Stop it! Stop it right now!" Tears had gathered at the edges of the brunette's eyes; her shoulders shaking slightly. "I-I—"

"_Will watch helplessly as every single one of your beloved die!_"

Laughing at the other's fear, Shikei's body started to fade, the glow of her eyes remaining slightly longer.

"_Let the fright consume you! Run, little child! Run and you may escape your death by our hands!_"

Body fading away at last with an ethereal sigh, Sakura's widened eyes did not leave the spot of where the other stood. The tears started sliding down her cheek bones as her breathing refused to steady, verging on breaking down and crying.

"…Sakura?"

It was getting out of control and becoming too much to swallow at once as fear choked her mind.

Death had a hold upon the city and Sakura felt like the weight of the world was crushing her resolve.

She wondered, as she bit her lip, if she really did have the courage to face the road ahead and escape with everyone unscathed…


	6. V

**V**

Eriol sat calmly in one of the armchairs of the Kinomoto residence, his eyes watching the troubled card mistress as she continued to clasp her hands tightly in her lap on the living room couch. As it was, Touya was not pleased with the dark-haired sorcerer from the way the situation was handled and extremely worried for his sister. When the older sibling confronted the boy about it, he wasn't answered with the normal mysterious smile with hidden intentions. His answer was a stern look, demanding silence to emphasize that there was no time for petty arguing.

The encounters with the shadow beings, now confirmed that two were in fact in existence, rested heavily on the mind of the English boy as he thought about it more. The so-called attacks against the current group weren't too severe, few physical injuries, if any… it almost seemed as if the enemy was taunting them, giving them a chance to squirm in fear and anxious anticipation of something else to jump out and attack them.

It was very, very strange.

But it was also very troublesome due to signs of Sakura's resolve starting to crumble so early. He had to reinforce the card mistress' courage not too harshly… but not so gently to give her too much hope, only for something terrible to happen and cause it all to come crashing down upon her.

Moving his dark gaze over to Yue, Eriol could notice small hints of tension through his body language despite his simple pose. Arms crossed—a tad snugly—over his chest, cat-like eyes looked down upon his mistress with slightly unmasked worry but his jaw was set tight. No doubt the Moon Guardian was furious that the enemy had gotten so close to his master, even barely physically touching her and caused so much despair in a brief period of time.

* * *

"_Give us Yue!"_

* * *

"Eriol-kun."

Broken out of his train of thought, the dark-haired boy looked back to the brunette, noticing that her eyes still focused on the floor.

"Yes?"

Breathing a slow sigh to calm her rattled nerves, Sakura spoke again. "… What should I do?"

Staying silent for a few moments, Eriol continued to watch the girl, his eyes narrowing slightly. "Do what your instincts tell you. If they tell you that the threat cannot be stopped in a simple and harmless way then you should do it."

"My instincts…" The words were echoed back faintly in thought but did not sound hopeful. "…My instincts are telling me that something bad is happening. Worse than ever before and the more I think about it, the more worried I get. This feels so… so different… It's like a nightmare with no end! Eriol-kun, I need to know what to do, I don't want anyone else getting hurt!"

"Do you want my honest answer, Sakura-chan? Do you want me to explain the cruel truth to you and you swear that you will not interrupt me until I am done?" Eriol asked evenly, his expression stern.

Looking up at the other, Sakura nodded firmly despite her emerald fearful eyes threatening to tear up again.

Interlacing his fingers in front of him, Eriol chose his words very carefully. "As the master of the Sakura Cards, I need you to understand this: You cannot expect to win this by simply capturing the enemy with, for example, the Windy Card. It is completely out of the question. From what I've observed, and what I have heard from all of you, this enemy doesn't care. They don't care for anyone who gets in their way; they are especially paying no heed to you nor I, Sakura-chan.

"This is why we have a very grave situation. I believe that we have nothing that we can offer in hopes to persuade them to stop causing havoc and what they demand is absurd. We will not--" Sakura opened her mouth to speak but Eriol held up a hand for silence "and do remember this at all costs, give them what they want. No matter what they threaten to do to anyone. If they threaten to kill people, you have to stop them before they get a chance to do it if you can. No stunning, no capturing, no questioning. You must kill them."

"What the hell, Hiiragizawa!?" Touya yelled, startling some of the occupants in the room. "Where do you get off telling my younger sister that she has to **kill** someone?! How can you expect that from her, and even you, you're all only kids! Kids that shouldn't even think things like that! I've kept quiet about a lot of things that happened, especially when you put her through a hell of a lot of danger the last time you were here! I'm telling you right now, if you suggest that to her again, I swear I'll make you regret it!"

Yue watched Touya for a brief moment before looking out the living room window in thought. He did have to agree with the elder Kinomoto on one thing… Sakura was not ready to defeat an enemy with the end result being death.

Regarding the older sibling with a somewhat surprised expression from the other's outburst, Eriol partially expected that there would be resistance. In truth, he wanted to explain this to Sakura alone without her brother looming over his shoulder but it could not be helped… Touya demanded that he was included in any situation that involved Yukito or Sakura.

"I'm sorry you feel that way, Touya-kun, but as of late, your opinion has very little worth in this situation." Grinning a bit bitterly, Eriol closed his eyes and leaned back in the armchair. "I realize your concern and that you have never trusted me from the start but I will have to ask you to be quiet."

Glaring darkly at the English boy in front of him, Touya seethed internally at the other's arrogance.

"I need you all to listen and listen well." Eriol paused for a moment before opening his eyes and looking at the occupants of the room, his grin gone. "If you encounter the enemy at any time, and you are capable of facing them, you are to stop them. If there is an innocent bystander in the vicinity that you can save, then your top priority is to protect them. As you all now should realize… the residents of this city are defenseless due to not knowing the existence of magic or ones that can cast it.

"For your own safety, Touya-kun, I will have to ask you to allow us to protect you. Considering that your powers are gone, you may be a prime target for the enemy due to their sheer recklessness and cruelty to attack people close to Sakura-chan. At the very least, it should put Sakura-chan at ease knowing that you are safe."

Narrowing his eyes slightly, Touya reluctantly nodded. "What about Yuki and Yue?"

Sakura, who had kept quiet for some time, cut-in softly. "Eriol-kun, there is something I want to know. The enemy… Why do they want Yue? What has he ever done to them?"

"If I may, Eriol-sama… It's not necessarily what he has done to them. They could be very well going after Yue in spite." Spinel answered quietly, his ears slightly lowered. "That is the worst type of enemy due to the unpredictability of their next move…"

Mulling over his thoughts for a few more quiet moments, Eriol came to another decision. "Yue will have to allow some form of protection other than what he currently has. No offense intended, Sakura-chan or you, Yue. It is just a precaution."

"…You think something will happen."

Yue nearly glowered at the window he looking out of, not at all liking the fact that Eriol was actually sounding apprehensive from the recent events. The more the English boy worried, the more Sakura got nervous and scared.

Moments when Sakura lost her focus were the most dangerous times due to the fact that she literally stopped whatever she was doing; fear binding her like a poisonous snake.

Eriol was not helping.

"You do believe that, do you not? You think that this threat poses an extreme danger to my master."

"Yes, I do." Eriol answered coolly. "This requires the full attention and participation everyone to take care of this enemy as quickly and as quietly as possible, with as little casualties as possible. Spinel, I will have to ask you to stay close-by to Touya-kun and his family. Nakuru, I ask you to be Yue and Yukito's second pair of eyes. If any of them require assistance then you are permitted to use whichever method necessary if it poses the least amount of danger to those you are protecting."

Spinel looked a little displeased of that fact that Eriol unofficially gave Kero permission to annoy the living daylights out of him when things were calm but he nodded, trusting his master's orders.

Nakuru grinned secretively at Yue, making no effort to hide her delight at the chance to ruffle the Moon Guardian's feathers. "I'm sure we can get along, right Yue?"

"Ah, one more thing. Kaho, I would like you to also keep an eye on Daidouji-san. Be her eyes, if you will, for anything remotely suspicious. I trust you can handle this."

Smiling gently, Kaho nodded. "Of course, Eriol-kun. I will do my best."

"Is that it?" Shaoran looked a bit troubled from his seat on the couch. "That's all you're going to do? Add a little extra guard work and let us act like everything's normal?"

"That is exactly what I'm proposing. Mind you, it is a very risky tactic but it will conserve energy rather than searching every square mile of Tomoeda. As for myself, I will be doing some research in hope to better the odds of limited casualties." Eriol stood up from his chair. "I trust you will do your best to protect Sakura-chan, Li-kun, should anything unexpected happen. Now if you'll excuse me, I should be going. Please be on your best behavior, Nakuru, Spinel."

"Of course, Eriol-sama."

"You bet! We'll get along just fine here!"

"Speak for yourself…" Spinel mumbled under his breath.

* * *

A blackened hand was held lazily towards the sky, fingers slowly curling in towards the palm as the drying blood lost its sheen. A dejected frown was amongst the scars on a pale face as Shikei assessed the damage done by the Chinese boy.

"_Insolence…_"

She hated that brat that attacked her, actually able to catch one part of her body with the spell when she was close enough to pluck out the Card Mistress' eyes.

That thought caused her to grin slightly as she leaned her back against the tree behind her. That would have been a thrill, plucking out one of those brilliant green eyes from the card mistress and watch her scream in pain and terror.

Cackling, she could almost feel the moment, just to see the young girl's face if she was forced to eat her own eye…or better yet, forcing the ripped eyeball down the Moon Guardian's throat.

"_What should we do about our beloved Moon Child…_?" Kousei sat with his back against the other side of the tree, his fingers trailing over the sharpened edge of the bladed handheld weapon. "_He seemed most displeased with us…_"

"_Yes… To have a master as weak as she, he must have to protect her constantly…_"

"_Do you think they are aware?_" A malicious grin flashed in the dark as the leaves above rustled.

"_We do not think so… Getting close to our beloved's master will not be too difficult but to get to him… We think he doesn't trust us._" A similar grin arose.

"_What a shame…We should bring him a gift._" Replacing the weapon back into his robes, Kousei took to watching the blades of grass.

"_Yes, a gift. Surely he can appreciate an offering to show our… appreciation._"

"_Let us be generous and provide him with a bountiful amount of gifts._"

"_Dye his hair red?_"

"_As red as his master's blood._"

* * *

Sakura lay on her bed, the covers pulled up to her chest as she looked at the painted ceiling of her room. It was almost ridiculous to think that she could sleep after what happened and her thoughts were a mess.

She couldn't understand how someone could be so malicious and inflict pain, even try to kill, another just for the fun of it. It made her stomach churn just thinking about what Shikei had said to her.

They wanted to hurt Yue.

Why?

Because they wanted to.

He didn't do anything to them.

It didn't matter, this was fun to them.

Fun. Blood spilling. Malicious grin. Flesh burning. Psychotic cackles accompanying the screams of pain.

Taking a deep breath, Sakura willed her panicked thoughts to still, if only for a moment. Getting worked up wouldn't solve anything, it would only worry her brother and friends. Besides, she thought to herself, Eriol had traveled all the way from England to lend a hand whenever they needed it and it would be enough to stop the terror.

'It would be enough.' She kept repeating that in her mind, despite her hands clenching the edges of her blankets in a bruising grip.

Downstairs, half-lidded turquoise eyes looked out to the front yard and street through the living room window as Spinel surveyed the immediate neighborhood. It was quiet, not a soul stirring as the eerie calm continued undisturbed. In the back of his mind, he was slightly anxious that the Card Mistress did not take his master's explanation too well and was working herself into a fit.

Before Eriol left, Spinel had spoken to him one on one to ask if he thought Sakura would be able to handle this. His answer was a damned unreadable smile before his master bid him goodnight and left.

Whether Eriol liked it or not, he was more like Clow Reed than he cared to admit.

"Suppi-chan, you shouldn't go around with a face like that, you'll scare Sakura-chan even more."

Tensing his shoulders slightly, the small guardian turned his head slightly to see Nakuru standing there with her hands clasped behind her back. "This is how I always look…"

"Exactly!" Nakuru held up a finger. "But you have to smile more because everything's all tense. The more serious everyone looks, the more pressure Sakura-chan will feel!"

"You may go ahead and do that if you wish but I'm fine the way I am." Spinel turned back towards the window.

Two hands swept him up from his spot on the window ledge and Spinel let out a quiet disgruntled squeak. Nakuru held up the small unhappy cat guardian and looked at him with a pout.

"I know you're worried about Eriol-sama's mood but that's no reason to be so mean." Her look softened into concern. "But we have to do what he says. We're here for back-up in case something happens and Eriol-sama knows what he's doing."

Cat-like ears lowered slightly as Spinel stayed silent for a few moments before speaking in a quiet voice. "… Eriol-sama is uneasy about this and I'm getting concerned that the solution he's looking for to rectify this situation is not going to be easy to find."

"He did seem a little lost in his thoughts… Although he was worried when that Void Card started to eat everything up in Tomoeda, everything turned out fine. Don't be a sourpuss, look happy!"

Looking miffed again, Spinel's ears flattened in annoyance. "You are unbelievable."

Grinning happily, Nakuru spun around to face the hall with the cat guardian still clasped in her hands. "I try! Now let's make ourselves at home and go through the house one more time to make sure everything's still okay. I'm sure it'll make Touya-kun and the others feel less nervous, even just a little."

Muttering softly under his breath, Spinel tried to crawl out of the other's grip. "…Or more bothered since you're all but spying on them."

"Oh hush; you're awful today, Suppi-chan. If you don't lighten up, I'm going to tell Eriol-sama."


	7. VI

**VI**

**Disclaimer: Card Captor Sakura and its characters belong to CLAMP and not I. What I own is the plot, the chapters and any original characters that are used for the story. Please do not use any of these without permission or kittens will cry.**

**Also, I really appreciate the reviews. They make my day as I write this story ever so slowly. Please enjoy.**

* * *

All she saw was darkness.

Black, overwhelming darkness seemed to suck the breath from her lungs, chill her bones, and stop her blood.

She also felt fear. Something malicious was watching her from the dark, waiting and making her skin crawl. She grabbed for her Star Key but found it was not around her neck. She had no cards, no staff, and no defense for whatever was waiting for her.

"Kero-chan?" Sakura called out, her hands clenching nervously into fists. "Yue-san?"

Her voice echoed back at her mockingly, swallowed up by the darkness shortly after. Swallowing the lump in her throat nervously, Sakura looked around when she heard a sudden tinkling giggle echo in all directions.

"_You are nothing!_"

"_Yue is ours; you can do nothing to stop us!_"

Red and silver flashed in and out among the gloom, accompanied by the screams of pain from victims. Each time they were struck, Sakura could hear the gruesome sounds of the weapons ripping into the wounded, hearing the tear of clothing all too clearly.

"Sakura…" That voice… It sounded so…

"Shaoran?" Sakura whispered faintly, hugging herself in the dark.

"S-Sakura… Run away…" The shadows melted away to reveal the bloodied form of Shaoran, blood staining his clothes and the weakly clutched sword. "Now…!"

Looking at his wounds with wide eyes, Sakura was terrified to move even if she wanted to help.

"_Come here, boy!_" A pale hand reached out from the darkness, grasping for the injured boy as it finally settled on seizing his neck. "_We are not done with you yet!_"

"S-Shaoran!" Sakura ran forward to help as the other was slowly dragged towards the darkness.

Silver once again flashed and protruded from Shaoran's chest, his brown eyes going wide and blood spilling out from his wound and mouth. "R-Run… Sakura…!"

"No! Shaoran, no!" Tears tried to blind her as she continued to run towards him, her hand out to grasp his that was reaching out towards her. "Shaoran, don't die! You can't! I'll help you!"

A weight slammed into her forehead, stunning the girl as her eyes lost focus from the pain flaring through her nerves. She remained still for a few moments before her body unlocked and she crumpled onto the unseen floor. Gasping in pain, she put a hand to her head, feeling dampness. Whimpering softly, she removed her hand from her forehead and saw blood.

"Sakura!" A voice cried out from the depths, sounding so distant…

"_All that you cherish… all that you protect…All those lives will be swept into hell!_"

"Sakura, wake up!" Too far away…

"_Even if we fail to kill you, we will make you suffer, Clow's successor!_"

Looking away from her bloodied fingertips fearfully, Sakura saw a set of bare feet in front of her. Black nails, more animalistic than human, were on the toes of her attacker, blood red robes stopping just above the ankles. Crawling back when one of the feet shifted slightly, Sakura sat back on her rear and followed the crimson and gold trimmed robes only to see the tip of a sword hovering millimeters from her face.

"W-who are you? Please don't…"

She received no answer.

Sakura had but a moment to look up at the hood covered face of her executioner as the red and gold clad arm raised the sword above her and swung down towards her skull. The last thing she saw as she screamed were orange eyes that gleamed from the dark, with an aura of one that could kill her and had no concern with slaying a defenseless target.

* * *

Kero was thrown back further down the bed as Sakura started screaming and thrashing. He had been trying to wake her up from whatever nightmare she was going through but to no avail.

"Sakura! Sakura, wake up already!" Jumping up, Kero flew back towards the head of the bed, looking at the girl with worry.

"No! Shaoran!" Sakura sat up suddenly, her eyes widened and soaked with tears.

"Sakura!" Floating over, Kero continued watching her. "What was it? Were you having a nightmare?"

"K-Kero-chan…" Sakura sniffled, looking ready to burst out crying again.

She wiped the tears from her eyes and face, her heart screaming to tear out of her chest from the gruesome nightmare. Never had she had a dream that vivid, that violent and so… so terrible. People were dying. It had to stop. It had to!

"… Sakura." Kero's round ears dipped slightly at another sob as he landed softly on her quilt-covered knee. "It's okay, don't cry. Sure, things are looking pretty bad but you've done very well ever since you opened the Book of Clow. Everyone has faith in you that you can pull through this."

"But how, Kero-chan? I…I don't know what to do; I don't know when they're going to strike next and who's going to get hurt! This never happened before!" Sakura hiccupped through another sob, still trying to wipe her tear-streaked face.

"No it hasn't… but that doesn't mean you should give up. We're all here to help, it's not like we're leaving you to do this all on your own. I know it seems like a lot but whatever you need us to do, Sakura, we're here for you." Kero sighed slightly and patted Sakura's covered knee. "Your dreams do show what could happen but if it's anything bad, we'll do our best to avoid it. Now go back to sleep, it's too early."

Downstairs, Nakuru hummed happily to herself as she toiled in the kitchen of the Kinomoto home just after dawn. Fujitaka still had not returned from his business trip and despite that the siblings could handle living on their own, the butterfly guardian felt it necessary to lift some of the pressure off of their shoulders. Making herself a cup of tea, she looked out the kitchen window to see that the neighborhood was unchanged and still standing. She still had not heard anything from her master but it had only been one night. Surely Eriol would at least check in some time in the morning to see how everyone was doing.

Smiling, Nakuru picked up her mug of tea. "You're up early. Do you want one?"

Touya frowned at Nakuru's back, not liking that she could sense him stepping into the kitchen without even turning to look at him. "Why are you up so early, making all that noise? Sakura hasn't slept very well all night; I think she kept having nightmares… So keep it down."

"A 'Good morning, Nakuru-chan!' would have sufficed. You're such a grump in the morning, Touya-kun." Nakuru sniffed and took out another mug for tea. "Is Yue awake?"

"No, -Yuki- isn't so that's another reason for you to keep quiet." Touya crossed the kitchen and took out some items to cook breakfast. "…And why are you so happy?"

"Well, like I told Suppi-chan, if we all walk around all sulky, the pressure will get worse for Sakura-chan and she'll start to think that we don't believe that she can handle this. Sugar?"

"I'll get it. I don't trust you with it."

"So mean!" Nakuru sighed and sat at the kitchen table with her tea. "Can't even trust me to make a proper cup of tea, you really are a grump. Though you are a grump that's looking out for your little sister and Yue so that makes you a cute grump!"

"Shut up." Adding a little bit of milk and sugar to his own tea, Touya took to leaning against the kitchen counter rather than sit across from the bubbly annoyance.

Taking a sip of the hot beverage, Nakuru remained quiet for a few moments before trailing her gaze to the kitchen window with suspicion. She could sense a vague magical aura that seemed far away but taunting her to come after it. Narrowing her eyes slightly, she stayed where she was, deciding to keep a mental tab on which direction it was coming from.

"… What is it?" Touya found it odd that the other actually listened to him.

"It seems that our new friends don't like to sleep in until eight. I thought they were going to behave and wait for all of us to be together but I guess not." Sighing, Nakuru got up from the table with her tea in hand and walked out of the kitchen. "Come, Touya-kun, I can't leave you alone so you have to go where I go."

* * *

Shaoran frowned in concentration as he looked over the neighborhood from his apartment balcony. The presence from the previous day had returned but it seemed weak, flickering in and out from his radar. Judging from the group's collective data, the enemy was only scratched, if anything. No major damages except burns were dealt out as they were toyed around with.

It could have been one of two things:

The enemy was either more injured or weakened than they let on… or they were hunting.

Choosing to go on watch, Shaoran left his apartment as some of the city still slept in the early hours of the morning, unaware that the shadows were creeping in despite the sun rising. In the back of his mind, he hoped that Sakura would get over her fear and not let it hold her back. She had looked so frightened the previous night and it tugged at his heartstrings that she had gotten so upset. He wanted to protect her but she had to contribute as well if the situation worsened.

As he continued walking down the street from his apartment, he noticed that the aura had settled down into a low hum, faint enough to tell where it was coming from but not strong enough to attract any unwanted attention. He found it more than a little strange since it felt distinctly different than the magical signatures of the ones that attacked them so boldly but at the same time had something similar.

He heard footsteps running behind him, his body tensing before a shout broke the silence.

"Shaoran!"

Eyes widening, the Li heir turned and saw a familiar face that he left behind. Meiling ran towards him, waving.

"Meiling!" Shaoran looked at the Chinese girl in disbelief as she stopped in front of him. "What are you doing here?"

Grinning smugly, she crossed her arms over her chest. "I'm here to help you and Kinomoto-san, of course! Seems like you guys can do nothing without me!"

Watching her in shocked silence for a few moments, Shaoran quickly sobered up. "Did my mother send you?"

"What?" Looking perplexed for a split second then frowning, Meiling huffed. "No, of course not. In fact, when I asked her where you went, she didn't want me to go. She sure seemed bothered about something so I know it had something to do with Kinomoto-san. So how bad is it?"

Frowning himself, Shaoran took a glance towards the direction where the faint magical energy was coming from. "… Well, it's not… that good. Hiiragizawa showed up and people are getting hurt pretty badly. We think… that the two people that died and two of our classmates that got attacked are related."

Eyes going wide, Meiling watched the other in silence. The fact that people were actually dying was a very bad sign. Taking a deep breath, Meiling held out one of her fists towards the other.

"Then you're gonna need all the help you and Kinomoto-san can get. You can depend on me, Shaoran! Magic or no magic, I'm not going to let some jerks hurt you or any of my friends here."

Smiling slightly, Shaoran nodded. Meiling was not one to give up despite her lack of magical powers and he was sure it would be a cold day in hell before the girl backed down because of that hindrance.

Resting her fists on her hips, Meiling nodded towards the other. "So what are we waiting for, Shaoran? Let's go kick some butt!"

* * *

Dark robes shifted from the breeze that passed by Tokyo Tower as Shikei stood on the edge of the roof of the observation deck. The unsuspecting Tomoeda residents were so helpless, so blissfully unaware that they were slowly being hunted down, one by one, and their streets were running red with their own blood.

Since observing the Card Mistress struggling with the consequences of wounded and dead, the thrill of the game was increasing tenfold. The girl had no idea what she was getting herself into. She couldn't protect everyone and her failures would only further weigh her down.

"_Pathetic._" Shikei smirked as her eager eyes looked down upon the streets below at the few cars on the road. "_What are you going to do now, Moon Child… Your previous beloved master has been reduced to nothing but a child… and your current master is too young to understand that the world is not always as it seems… What will you do now…_?"

Kousei, paying no attention to the city, walked across the roof of the observation deck, seemingly looking for something that was not there. His own dual coloured eyes swept across the metal roof and bars of the tower, his face showing concentration. Taunting the Card Mistress and her merry group of friends would have to wait until he found what he was looking for in the first place.

Stopping, he turned to look over his shoulder at the city that was sitting below them, picking up a few magical signatures that he definitely recognized.

That brat, that one brat, who possessed Clow Reed's great powers, was moving independently. Curling his lip slightly into a snarl, Kousei wondered how long the problem child had been wandering into their direction without detection until now. The English boy would prove a problem if he continued his meddling with their business with Yue.

He was sure to pay him back for interfering so generously…


	8. VII

**VII**

**I seriously rewrote this about four times. I think I'm satisfied with it now. My lovely new beta caught a few things that seemed overly awkward and I just realized last week that the tower was called Tokyo Tower. Consider it corrected! Ugh, so many details… I'm such a dork. The first part I just felt like adding in…And I actually updated in less than six months! Let the good times roll, children.**

* * *

_Precious little girl; heart frail as glass_

_We will not let you sleep until you breathe your very last_

_Crying will not solve a thing_

_Much hopelessness that we will bring_

_Now give us what we came here for_

_Or death will haunt you evermore_

* * *

Eriol observed the property belonging to the Tokyo Tower attraction, ignoring the tourists as they walked by the wooden bench he was sitting on. On the train ride there, he was introduced to, also scrutinized by, Meiling; who blatantly said that she expected the reincarnation of Clow Reed to be more… well, impressive. Working with her was going to be… interesting.

For the task at hand, if the enemy was hiding amongst the magically challenged population, they wouldn't just let their aura be sensed if they didn't want to be found. Eriol found that a troubling thought.

"Where are they?" Meiling shouted; her fists held up as if ready for a fight.

"Meiling, stop it, you're attracting attention!" Shaoran hissed, nervously looking at some of the tourists that gave the girl puzzled, and possibly fearful, looks.

"I'll make them pay for what they did to you and Kinomoto-san!"

"Meiling!"

Focusing his own magic a bit more without attracting too much suspicion, Eriol had managed to gather that one of their foes was close by…

In fact, he could swear that he felt a pair of eyes on him, watching him resentfully from a distance. Raising his eyes slightly to the upper half of the tower, he noted that a shadow moved out of view after a moment of watching.

"_Come and get us._"

Meiling froze in the middle of her ranting, her eyes widening from hearing the bodiless words and feeling the sudden cold that settled in. She looked around to see if anyone else had noticed it.

"What… was that?" She murmured quietly, people continuing to walk past the three, unaffected.

"… It is strange how they know we are here but do not attack us…" Eriol continued to watch the spot where the shadow vanished. "I highly doubt that they are holding back due to innocent by-standers…"

As much as Shaoran hated the other's reasoning, he reluctantly agreed. "That didn't stop them before… This would be an all but perfect situation."

"Well what are we waiting for; let's go get them already before they get away!" Meiling pointed to the windows of the tower's observation deck. "Let's start from up there!"

Eriol watched the girl in slight—very slight—surprise… From what he was told, Meiling didn't have any magical powers whatsoever since they were mostly passed down the main branch of the Li Clan… Could it be that she knew the enemy was hiding out on the roof…?

"We'll get a better view of everything!" Or perhaps it was just a fluke.

"I don't think it works that way, Meiling… It could be a trap. Think about it, we'd be high in the air with limited ways down back to the ground, surrounded by dozens of people. I don't like the feeling of it." Shaoran crossed his arms, looking at the tower in thought...

To think they were here only a few years ago, Shaoran silently mused. Yue tested both Shaoran and Sakura to see who would be the absolute master of the former Clow Cards… Something didn't feel right. Was it coincidence that the enemy was hiding out there or did they know more than they cared to let on?

Eriol examined the other quietly. It was good to know that he wasn't the only one that had a great suspicion of how much the enemy knew and so far since their arrival that morning, nothing had happened. The enemy was just sitting back, biding their time though at the same moment watching them all for their next move.

"What if they start attacking people while we stand here!" Meiling pointed at the tower, fired up as ever.

Shaoran turned and looked at Eriol, not liking what he was about to say. "… What do you think, Hiiragizawa?"

"… If we go after them, we could be going into a trap with very little room to maneuver and many people could be put in jeopardy." Eriol cupped his chin in thought, looking at the concrete walkways. "Though if we stay back we could be very well giving them to go ahead to do as they please to those that are unaware of this threat."

"That sounds worse! Who cares if there's two of them, just leave one of them to me!" Meiling punched the air a few times.

Eriol smiled slightly at the girl, she was quite a fireball indeed. "Meiling-chan, you are certainly living up to the reputation that precedes you. But please be patient with me. This is a very difficult decision as we have to take into account our current numbers and the fact that we do not know the extent of our enemies' powers. We do know that they are doing all they can to get Yue and they could very well leading us astray with a divide and conquer maneuver. But that is also just an assumption. That's why this is so dangerous and sudden attempts to jump in head first are not recommended. We don't know what they are going to do."

"… Oh." Meiling lowered her fists, finding a little boy staring at her wide-eyed before being dragged away by his mother. "If you're worried about numbers, why don't we call Kinomoto-san?"

Shaoran and Eriol exchanged glances, both knowing that Sakura wasn't handling the situation well. Both sets of guardians were closer to her than their current group so she had enough protection if something went wrong… but her resolve was still questionable.

"What? What's the problem now?" Meiling frowned at the silence.

"If Sakura is still as upset as she was last night it's going to be a problem. I know she will get over this and do her best but she is getting bombarded way too quickly." Shaoran said quietly, a slight blush tinged his cheeks red, murmuring the last sentence. "I'm… worried about her if she loses focus and ends up hurt… I don't want that to happen…"

Meiling stood stock still, looking at the other in silence. It was good that Shaoran's feelings were still strong for Sakura but… in a far place in the back of her mind… she… still…c….

Dangerous hands grabbed Shaoran's shoulders and shook him a few solid times. "Shaoran, listen to me. Kinomoto-san still depends on you and if you go on doubting her and she hears about it, she'll be crushed. You have to trust that she'll pull through She always was a little coward when scary stuff happened with the Clow Cards but she got over it. We're battle-ready because we were taught to be, she was unprepared with the whole card capturing thing and had to get over it. Anything regarding magic is never easy, even I know that. This is a bit more out there but she'll be okay. Got that?"

Shaoran looked at the girl in alarm when she grabbed his shoulders but his look softened from her pep-talk. "Meiling…OW! Meiling!"

Meiling pinched Shaoran's cheeks and pulled a bit. "Now call her and tell her what's going on so she doesn't worry sick about you, you idiot!"

* * *

Sakura sat silently on her bed, eyes glued to the book that contained the Sakura Cards in her hands as Nakuru took the liberty of looking for a cute outfit for the day. The boys had been shoved out of her room, including Kero, so Nakuru could have a heartening chat with the card mistress.

"Oh, how about this one, Sakura-chan? No wait, how about this one? This one looks really cute!" Nakuru had an armful of outfits as she continued to look through the closet.

"… Nakuru-chan?" Sakura spoke quietly, not taking her eyes off of the book.

"Hmm?" The guardian turned to look at the somber faced girl. "Don't look so scary, Sakura-chan, it's not fitting for you!"

Sakura sighed, holding the book over her chest as she shut her eyes. "I'm sorry, it's just… I can feel that the cards are really worked up and I want to tell them that it's alright but…"

"Then tell them." Nakuru walked over and sat on the edge of the bed beside the girl.

Sakura opened her eyes and looked at the carpet. "I want to… but I'm not sure if I believe it…"

"Don't say that!" The sudden rise of the guardian's voice startled the girl as she looked at Nakuru with wide eyes. "Don't you dare say that again. Losing confidence is really dangerous, Sakura-chan. If you don't believe that this will be fine then the cards won't either. They depend on your strength, Sakura-chan, and not just your magical powers. They want to succeed as much as you do but if you hesitate, their power will only be as strong as your confidence."

Sakura stayed silent, noticing that Nakuru was looking straight ahead at the desk across from the bed.

"That goes the same for anyone who uses magic. If someone tried to cast a spell and hesitated halfway through it, it would fizzle out or even worse, backfire depending on the complexity of it. Take Eriol-sama for example. When he confronted you about the last of the Sakura Cards that had to be switched over, he had absolute confidence that you could do it and that we could push you enough to do it. If his confidence waned, you wouldn't have found the strength to change the last of the cards before their magic ran out." Nakuru looked down at the armful of clothes she had on her lap and smoothed some of the wrinkles out. "Do you understand?"

The Card Mistress nodded silently, never ever having seen Nakuru look so serious in a conversation in the brief time of knowing her.

"So!" Nakuru got up suddenly from the bed and placed the pile of clothes down. "Pick what you like and come down for tea, even if you don't want any since eating breakfast!"

"Nakuru-chan!" Sakura stood up from the bed just as soon as the guardian was about to leave the room.

Nakuru stopped, her hand resting on the doorknob of the closed door, looking at her out of the corner of her eye.

"…. Arigato." Sakura held the book more firmly to her chest and bowed slightly. "Thank you for trying to cheer me up. I'll do my best to fix this."

Grinning, Nakuru flashed Sakura the peace sign and left the room in a blur, the door shutting quietly behind her. The Card Mistress sighed and looked at the cover of the book once again, only to jump from the ringing of her cell phone on her desk.

"Hoee?" Blinking, she walked over and answered it. "Moshi-Moshi?"

"Sakura… you weren't… I didn't wake you up, did I?" A little bit of static interference but she could still understand the words.

"Shaoran!" Sakura brightened up, if only a bit. "No, I've been up for a while… Is everything okay?"

"It's… been quiet for now. I'm with Hiiragizawa and Meiling at Tokyo Tower and we think that one of them is hiding out there—but don't worry! They haven't done anything yet, I think they're just doing what we are and watching." Shaoran made sure to choose his words carefully… Sakura sounded fine…

"W-what?!" The grip on the small pink phone tightened. "How long have they been there? I should tell Nakuru-chan and Spinel-san, they're really worried about Eriol-kun! We'll be there as fast as we can!"

"N-no, just a second! I just wanted to give you a call to give you a heads up about this because we're going to take a look around. If you all come charging at once, they might notice it and people could start getting hurt." Shaoran paused for a second, thinking of his next words.

Sakura's eyebrows knit slightly, sudden increased static interfering with the other's words. "Shaoran? I can't hear you very well, you're breaking up!"

"… Going to… Tower… Careful… Sakura." More static before a busy signal beeped.

"Shaoran? Shaoran!" Sakura took the phone away from her ear and looked at it.

Quickly selecting an outfit from what Nakuru pulled from the closet, Sakura dressed and ran downstairs, making sure her key necklace was around her neck and her cards safe in her pocket with her cell phone in another.

She nearly ran into Touya on the stairs, who was about to check on her. "Hey, what's the rush? And you know better than to run down the stairs, Sakura!"

"Onii-san, Shaoran's in trouble!" Sakura looked up at the other, pleading for him to let her go. "Something's wrong and I have to help! He's with Meiling-chan and Eriol-kun and I was talking to Shaoran on the phone and it cut out!"

"What?!" Nakuru looked out from the kitchen at the mention of her master's name. "Where are they?"

"Hang on a second; I'm not letting you go off on your own again! This is dangerous, Sakura, and I'm supposed to be looking after you!" Touya held his arm out when Sakura tried to rush past.

Sakura thought hard for a second then snapped her fingers. "Onii-san, call Tomoyo-chan and Mizuki-sensei. Take Spinel-san with you in case anything happens. I don't want any of you getting hurt and meet us near Tokyo Tower, okay? This way we have more ground covered if the enemy is on the move. Use Tomoyo-chan's cell phone to call us if anything's suspicious!"

Touya watched his younger sister for a few silent moments, noting how antsy she was to get moving… but it seemed that she had her confidence back, even just a little. "…. Be careful and don't do anything stupid. I trust you on this." He glanced at Nakuru, his eyes narrowing. "If anything happens to her, it's you I'm coming after."

"Don't worry, Touya-kun, Yue and I will keep Sakura-chan safe!" Nakuru nodded, flashing the A-OK sign. "We've got the air covered."

"What about me?!" Kero's small plush body flew in between them, demanding attention.

"You don't count." Nakuru brushed past the small guardian, waving a hand dismissively.

Sakura paused for a moment before making a decision. "Kero-chan… I want you go to with Spinel-san and Onii-san! You know where Tomoyo-chan's house is and you can fly so keep out of sight until you get there!"

* * *

"Come on, come on!" Meiling had her arms crossed over her chest, her foot tapping impatiently on the tiled floor as she waited for one of the two elevators to reach the ground floor.

After contacting Sakura, Eriol suggested, much to Meiling's irritation, that they split into two groups. Meiling and himself would go up in the first elevator to the observation deck and see how things were faring while Shaoran would wait for the second elevator on the ground floor. It was a risk but if all of them were in the tower when the enemy attacked below, they would be at a disadvantage and while casting a spell to move the tourists to another location was ideal, it took a while to prepare. Additionally, if Sakura showed up then there would be someone to meet her to explain what was going on instead of having her panic.

Meiling at once protested that she wanted to stay with Shaoran and she worked better with him but Eriol managed to convince her that if an enemy was upstairs and engaged with him, Meiling could do her part and catch them off guard with a sneak attack.

Of course he wasn't serious and would do all he could to prevent that from happening. However the idea appealed to her and she told Shaoran to not get sloppy just because she was gone.

The elevator dinged, doors opening and Meiling made sure she got to stand in front of the windows that looked out towards Tomoeda while Eriol took his time, giving Shaoran a meaningful look to be careful. The doors shut and Shaoran was left alone, with other people that were waiting for the second car to make its way down.

Meiling looked out at the landscape of the city; her arms still crossed on her chest as the elevator car rose, passing thick support beams of the tower. She would make sure this time around that Sakura and Shaoran got all the help they could get from her no matter what.

Eriol stood calmly in the elevator, his hands clasped behind his back but he kept a careful eye out. So far their arrival had been noticed but wasn't acted upon. He kept his summoning key clenched in one of his hands, out of view from wandering eyes.

Minutes later, the elevator bell dinged and the doors slid open into the spacious observation deck, letting its passengers file out. Meiling ran out, quickly excusing herself rudely as she pushed by people to stand and look at the elevator indicator for the other car that was heading down to pick up the next group of tourists. She watched impatiently as the 'G' for the ground floor lit up and shone, unblinking, until the light finally dimmed; the strain of the cables from behind the metal doors alerted her of the ascent for the second car.

Eriol's eyes sharpened when he heard the arid cackling from somewhere on the observation deck. His grip on the summoning key tightened as he tried to pinpoint it but all he saw were oblivious tourists looking through the glass in awe of the view.

"_Oh, this is rich! Reincarnation, you amuse us by your thoughts to eradicate us!_"

"…Come on, come on…" Meiling, standing tensely, never took her eyes off of the elevator doors as she wished for the car to arrive faster.

She either didn't hear what the enemy was saying or chose to ignore it, Eriol wasn't too sure.

"_We'll play with you next, the card mistress is so weak but you… you seem to know what you are dealing with!_ _You like games, do you not; luckily for you, child, as do we!"_

Stealing a glance from his peripheral vision, Eriol noted that most of the tourists had moved on from the loading area of the elevators. If he could just get enough time to draw the enemy away from the innocent bystanders, he could—

Another chime from the elevator caused Meiling take a half step closer to the doors. A moment passed prior to the doors sliding open and people started filing out. Only a few were able to leave the car before the elevator shuddered and jerked, falling down half its height from the floor it stopped at. Some of the occupants screamed and those that were about to step off fell back into their fellow passengers as the car creaked unsteadily.

"Shaoran!" Meiling pushed forward, Eriol close behind her as she scanned the frightened faces of those trapped in the elevator.

"_Let's play a game, Reincarnation of Clow Reed…How about who can draw the quickest? Or even easier, answer this question for us and we will let these fools go…_"

"Shaoran, can you hear me!?" Meiling crouched slightly, trying to spot the brunette, finally spotting him in the back. "Are you okay?!"

"Y-yeah, I'm fine, Meiling." Shaoran held onto the railing on the wall of the car unsteadily, being crowded by those around him and unable to use his magic in such an enclosed space. "Damn it…"

"_You know what we want… Will you give it to us?_ _You have five seconds to answer us correctly…_"

The elevator car was full of muddled chatter.

"Someone call maintenance!"

"_Five…_"

"Is it stuck?"

"_Four…_"

"Is everyone okay?"

"_Three…_"

"Shaoran, can you get out of there?" Meiling watched worriedly.

"_Two…_"

He just needed a few more seconds so he could—

The cackling carried on as the car lowered another half a foot and something pale from the darkness of the shaft caught Eriol's attention.

A yellow eye veiled by shadowy hair gleamed in the darkness and a pale hand was held out, the cable of the elevator car shimmering in a deep red glow ahead of it, suspended by a spell.

"_We're sorry… The answer we were looking for was 'Absolutely'._"

The hand flicked, a finger pointing to the sorcerer as the crimson hue faded and the car plunged towards the ground.

"_Care to try again?_"


End file.
